Support Pio's Journey Against Colon Cancer

On January 7th, Pio discovered—by pure chance—that he had an

an "uninvited guest" in his body, as he calls it. He had no major symptoms. In fact, he went for a long run the day before, windsurfed over the weekend, and was living life as usual. During a routine check-up after a blood test, a determined doctor ran a few CT scans and found that Pio had colon cancer, which had spread to his liver and peritoneum. This is a serious condition as it affects the abdomen and the sac that holds all the digestive organs. After receiving the diagnosis, Pio and his family decided to leave Maui on January 18th and move to Oklahoma City, where he started chemotherapy on January 29th.

Thanks to a dear friend’s recommendation, Pio found an incredible medical team that quickly began treatment. On February 10th, Pio was accepted at MD Anderson in Houston, one of the top cancer

centers in the country. His first appointment was on February 27th, where the oncologist confirmed the diagnosis and explained that surgery would not be an option until his condition improves. His next appointment is on March 19th for a follow-up. In addition to medical treatment, Pio is working with a nutritionist in California and following a special diet to support his health. His digestive system is very delicate at the moment, so he can only eat certain foods in small portions every three hours. He has already lost 22 pounds. Despite everything, he remains positive and continues doing what he loves—spending time with his family, working on his spiritual growth, designing and managing MFC Hawaii, collaborating with FCS, and working

on many different projects. As he says, "I love what I do, and it makes me the happiest person on earth, I feel blessed"; His FCS team has been incredibly supportive, as has the KT team. If you know Pio, you know his mindset and dedication to his work and lifestyle.

Moving from Hawaii to the mainland was a necessary step to accelerate his treatment and fight this aggressively. As many of you know, Pio is someone who takes action and doesn’t waste time. Right now, his daughter, Allegra, is in school in the Midwest, staying with her grandmother, while Pio and Gretchen travel between Oklahoma City and Houston for chemotherapy and doctor appointments. One of the hardest parts for them is being away from their daughter and only seeing her on weekends when they can travel back. Additionally, Gretchen had to cancel her European tour and her upcoming summer tour, which has been another financial and career setback.

Pio has a good health insurance, but as you can imagine, not everything is covered. Also, his upgrade only started on February 1st, so all medical expenses before that had to be paid out of pocket. He has been staying in an AirBnB in Oklahoma City, traveling back and forth to Kansas (a 2.5-hour drive each way), driving and staying in Houston, and covering costs for co-pays, supplements, and other therapies not covered by insurance. Expenses are rising quickly, and this is just the beginning of the journey. We kindly ask for your support to help Pio and his family through this challenging time. Any contribution, big or small, would mean the world to them.

Thank you.